How to reach Nainital

Nestling snugly at an altitude of 1958m on the southern extremity of Lesser Himalayan Zone in Kumaon. Nainital is well connected with major towns and cities across the country. The easy accessibility has made Nainital favorite for weekend getaway among masses. Want to know how to reach Nainital? Don’t worry, this article will help you out in getting there.

How to reach Nainital ?

Nainital is well connected by Roads, Railways & Airways

By Railways:

Nearest railhead is Kathgodam at a distance of(33km) connected by Delhi. There are three trains from Delhi to Kathgodam.

Uttaranchal Sampark Kranti – in which tickets are available even few hours before the departure. It arrives late at night. You need to make sure that you already have pre-booked cab, hotel, and hot dinner in midnight at Nainital.

Ranikhet Express – It is an excellent overnight journey. You need to book your ticket well in advance. Tatkal ticket booking is always an option. The train leaves Delhi at 11 P.M and reaches Kathgodam at 6 A.M. The buses are easily available from Haldwani to Delhi.

The Shatabdi Express – It is the favorites; tickets are available easily a few days. It is the fastest leaves Old Delhi at 6 A.M and reaches Kathgodam by 11:30 AM. The only drawback of Shatabdi train is the food offered in the train. According to new rules the food is not mandatory.

Note – The train number, train name, timings, train schedule to Nainital are subject to change without prior notice. You can also consider checking the Nainital Distance Chart before booking. Please check the Indian Railways Official website or IRCTC for latest and correct train timing and for online train ticket booking to Kathgodam, Ramnagar and Lal Kuan Railway Station.

By Roadways:

Road Route to Nainital – Coming from Delhi to Nainital is really easy with straight & well connected roads. From Delhi you need to follow NH-24 (National Highway 24). You will be crossing following places while following this road route to Nainital –

Road Route from Delhi to Nainital is given below. You can follow these driving directions to Nainital as final destination point.

This is the best way to reach Nainital via Road from Delhi. Bus to Nainital is easy available from Anand Vihar Bus Station at different timings, mainly of UPSRTC & Uttarakhand State Road Transport.

It takes 700 bucks to book a complete taxi from Kathgodam to Nainital. For others, you may come out at Haldwani, which is a station before Kathgodam. The bus stand is a walk of 10 minutes. If you have heavy luggage, you can hire a rickshaw.

Buses regularly leave from Haldwani to Nainital between 5 A.M to 6 P.M. A shared taxi is another option which will cost Rs 100 per person. Play the “We-are-not-coming-Nainital-for-the-first-time” card if the cab driver quotes otherwise.

By Airways:

The nearest airport to Nainital is at Pant Nagar which is about 70km from Nainital. Pant Nagar is the nearest airport to Kathgodam and Nainital as well.

The distance between Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi and Pant Nagar Airport is approximately 300 Km. Pant Nagar Airport has well connected roads to Nainital. Different modes of transport like Taxis, Roadways Buses etc. are easily available.

Preferred option is to easily hire a taxi from Pant Nagar Airport and reach Nainital via Haldwani and Kathgodam.